prigman 
prigmant, . [ Also pridije man ; <priy l + matt.] 
A thief, llnlliin-ll. 
A Prygman gocth wltli a stycke In liys hand like an 
idle person. His propertye is to stcalc cloathes of the 
hedge, which they call storing of the Rogeman : or else 
flitch Poultry, carving them to the Alehouse, whych they 
call the Bowsyng In, A ther syt playing at cardes and dice, 
tyl that Is spent which they iiaue so fylched. 
Fraternity of Vagabonds (15(>1), quoted In Ribton Turner's 
(Vagrants and Vagrancy, p. 593. 
A pridgemati from him pryuilie his money did purloyne. 
Drant, tr. of Horace, To Julius Floras. 
priket, M. A Middle English form of prick. 
prilet, r. See prill*. 
prill't (pril), . '. [Perhaps a var. of pirl, purl : 
see purl 1 . The words spelled prill are scantly 
represented in literary use, and are more or less 
confused with one another.] To flow with a 
murmuring sound ; purl. 
An alabaster Image of Diana, a woman for the most part 
naked, and water conveyed from the Thames prilling from 
her naked breast. 
Whalley, Note to B. Jonaon'a Cynthia's Revels, I. 1. 
prill 1 (pril), . [< ME. prillf, a whirligig; cf. 
priin, v.] 1. A child's whirligig. 2. A small 
stream of water. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
Each slluer prill gliding on golden sand. 
Dacia, Microcosmos, p. 12. (Daniel.) 
prill 2 !, v. t. [ME. pritlen, prilen, pierce ; origin 
obscure.] To pierce. 
Aftlrward they prile [var. prill] and pointii 
The folk right to the bare boon. 
Rom. of the Kate, I. 1058. 
prill 3 (pril), . Same as brill. 
prill 4 (pril), . [Origin obscure.] 1. A small 
bit or quantity. [Cornwall, Eng.] 2. In min- 
ing, the better parts of ore from which inferior 
pieces have been separated ; a nugget of virgin 
metal. 3. A button or globule of metal ob- 
tained by assaying a specimen of ore in the 
cupel prill ore, solid ore ; large pieces and grains of 
olid dressed ore. It. limit. [Cornwall, Eng. I 
prill 5 (pril), v.i. [Origin obscure.] 1. To turn 
spur. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 2. To get 
tipsy. [Prov. Eng.] 
prulon, prillion (pril'yon), . [Cf.priB*.] Tin 
extracted from the slag of a furnace. 
prim 1 (prim), a. and . [Not found in ME. use ; 
appav. < OF. prim, in., prime, t., also prime, in. 
and I 1 ., first, also thin, slender, small, sharp, 
prime: see prime. The sense seems to have 
been affected by that of E. prink. Cf. primp.} 
I. a. Neat; formal; stiffly precise; affectedly 
nice; demure. 
This hates the filthy creature, that the prim. 
Young, Love of Fame, lit. 
You could never laugh at her prim little curls, or her 
pink bows again, if you saw her as I have done. 
Hn. Oatlcell, Cranford, ii. 
The prim box path. Locker, A Garden Idyll. 
II. n. A neat, pretty girl. Halliwell. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
prim 1 (prim), v.; pret. and pp. primmed, ppr. 
primming. [< prim 1 , n.~] I. trans. To deck 
with great nicety; form or dispose with af- 
fected preciseness; prink; make prim. 
When she was primmed out, down she came to him. 
Richardson, Clarissa Harlowe, II. Let 23. 
Mark also the \M. Maury, his broad, bold face, mouth 
accurately primmed. Carlyle, French Rev., I. iv. 4. 
II. intrans. To make one's self prim or pre- 
cise. [Rare.] 
Tell dear Kitty not to prim up as if we had never met 
before. Mme. D'ArUay, Diary, ii. 108. (Danes.) 
prim 2 (prim), H. [Perhaps < OF. prim, first, 
also thin, etc.: see prim 1 .] The fry of the 
smelt. [Prov. Eng.] 
prim 3 (prim), M. [Cf. pn'wprinf andpriref.] The 
privet. See Ligustrum. 
prim. An abbreviation of primary. 
prima (pre'nmt, a. [It., fern, of primo, first: 
see prime.] First Prima buffa, the first female 
singer in a comic opera. Prima donna (nrst lady), the 
principal female singer in an opera. Prima vista, in 
intone, tirst sight : as, to play or sing prima ritta(to play or 
sing from notes a composition the performer has never be- 
fore seen or heard). Prima VOlta, in mwric, first time, 
denotes that the measure or measures over which it is 
placed are to be played the first time a section is played, 
and when it is repeated are to be omitted, and those 
marked neconda volta are to be played instead. The ab- 
breviations I colta, II" volta are often used In modern 
music as merely I and II, the volta being omitted. 
primacy (pri'ma-si), . [< OF. primarie, pri- 
matie. also prim'ace, F. prima fie = Sp. primtiria 
= Pg. It. primtizin, < ML. primatia. the dignity 
of a primate, < LL. primus (primnt-), principal, 
chief, ML. a primate: see primate.] 1. The 
condition of being prime or first in order, power, 
or importance. 
4728 
It may be reasonable to allow St. Peter a primacy of 
order, such a one as the ringleader hath in a dance, a* the 
prlmlpilar centurion had In the legion. 
Borrow, Works, VII. 70. 
The king in the [early German] monarchic states does 
little more than represent the unity of race ; he has a pri- 
macy of honour but not of power. 
.s'liiVw, Const. Hist, | 18. 
2. The rank, dignity, or office of an archbishop 
or other primate. 
Let us grant that perpetuity of the primacy In the church 
was established in Peter, I would gladly learn why the seat 
of the primacy should be rather at Rome than elsewhere. 
J. Bradford, Letters (Parker Soc., 185.1), II. 144. 
If any man say that It is not by the Institution of our 
Lord Christ himself that St. Peter has perpetual successors 
In his primacy over the Universal church, or that the Ro- 
man Pontiff is not by Divine right the successor of Peter 
in that same primacy, let him be anathema. 
Draft of Dogmatical Decree mbmitted by Pita IX. to the, 
[ 1'iifiVnii Council, July 18, 1870. 
Making laws and ordinances 
Against the Holy Father's primacy, 
Tennyson, CJueen Mary, ill. 3. 
prima facie (pri'ma fa'shi-e). [L. : prima, 
abl. of prinnm, first-,' facie, abl. of fades, form, 
shape, appearance: see prime and /nee'.] At 
first view or appearance. See f prime fact; 
under prime, a.-prlma fade case, in late: (a) A 
case which is established by sufficient evidence, and can 
be overthrown only by rebutting evidence adduced by the 
other side. (6) A case consisting of evidence sufficient to 
go to the Jury : that is to say, one which raises a pretump- 
tlon of fact, and hence will justify a verdict, though it 
may not require one. Prima facie evidence, In lair, 
evidence which establishes a prima facie case. See eri 
dence. 
primage (pri'mfij), . [< F. primaye; as prime 
4- -age.] 1. A small sum of money formerly 
paid over and above the freight to the master 
of a ship for his care of the goods: now charged 
with the freight and retained by the ship-owner. 
Also called hat-money. 
rrimayt is a small customary payment to the master 
for his care and trouble. 
Itnteinan, Commercial Law, 824. 
2. The amount of water carried over in steam 
from a steam-boiler by foaming, lifting, and 
atomizing of the water. See priming. It is esti- 
mated, in relation to the amount of water evaporated or 
to the time of evaporation, usually as a percentage of 
the entire weight of water passed through the boiler: as, 
a primage of three per cent. 
primal (pii'inal), . [< ML. primalis, primary, 
< L. primus, first: see prime.'] 1. Primary; 
first in time, order, or importance; original; 
primitive. 
It hath the primal, eldest curse upon 't, 
A brother's murder. Shalt., Hamlet, III. 3. 37. 
Step after step . . . 
Have I climb'd back into the primal church. 
Tennymn, (jueen Mary, I. i 
No great school ever yet existed which had not for 
primal aim the representation of some natural fact us 
truly as possible. lltistm. 
2. [cop.] In ijeol., the earliest of H. D. Rogers's 
divisions of the Paleozoic series of Pennsyl- 
vania, equivalent to the Potsdam sandstone 
of the New York Survey. 3. In naf. liist., 
specifically, of or pertaining to the kingdom 
Pl'itli<t. = Syn.l. Prime, etc. See primary. 
Primalia (pri-ma'li-a), n. pi. [NL., neut. pi. 
of ML. primalis, primal : see primal.] A third 
and the lowest kingdom of organized beings, 
containing those which are neither tme plants 
nor true animals: contrasted with Fegctabilia 
and Animalia. See Protixta, Protopliyta, Pro- 
tozoa. The group has been defined and named 
as in the quotation. 
A great group of organized beings of more simple struc- 
ture than either vegetables or animals, which we regard 
as eminently and demonstrably a primary division or king- 
dom, and apply to it the name Primalia. 
T. B. Wilton and J. Cauin, Proc. Acad. Nat Set Phlla., 
[May, 1863, p. lie. 
primality (pri-mal'i-U), n. [< primal + -ity.] 
The state of being primal. Baxter. 
primaria 1 (pri-ma'ri-S), H.; pi. primarix (-e). 
[NL., fern. sing, of L. primarius, primary: see 
primary.] A primary, or primary rernex, of a 
bird's wing : generally in the plural. 
Primaria 2 (pri-ma'ri-a), i. i>l. [NL., neut. pi. 
of L.primariu, primary: see primary.] A syn- 
onym of Primates, 2. E. Blytli. 
primarian. (pri-ma'ri-an), H. [<.primnry + -tan.] 
A pupil in a primary school. 
As important for a primarian to develop a keen percep- 
tion. Education, III. 637. 
primaried (pri'ma-rid), a. [(.primary + -ed.] 
In ortiitli., having primaries (of the kind or to 
the number specified by a qualifying term): as, 
long-primaried; mne-jirimnrinl. 
primary 
primarily (pri'tna-ri-li), ailr. In the first or 
most important place: originally; in the first 
intention. 
In fevera, where the heart primarily suffereth, we apply 
medicines unto the wrist. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., Iv. 4. 
priraariness (pri'ma-ri-nes), N. The state of 
being primary, or first in time, act, or intention. 
That which is peculiar must be taken from the primari- 
net* tod secondariness of this perception. Xorrit. 
primary (pri'ma-ri), a. and 11. [= F. primaire 
= Sp. Pg. It. primario, < L. primarius, of the 
first, of the first rank, chief, principal, excel- 
lent, (primus, first: see prime. Cf. primer 1 and 
premier, from the same source.] I. a. 1. First 
or highest in rank,dignity,orimportance; chief; 
principal. 
As the six primary planeta revolve about him, so the 
secondary ones are moved about them. BctitUy. 
The care of their children is the primary occupation of 
the ladies of Kgypt. K. W. Lane, Modem Egyptians, I. 238. 
The primary use of knowledge Is for such guidance of 
conduct under all circumstances as shall make living com- 
plete, a. Spencer, Pop. Sci. Mo., XXII. 868. 
The primary circuit or coll Is the coll of comparatively 
thick wire which Is connected with a battery and circuit- 
breaker. T. D. l.ockwood. Elect., Mag., and Teleg., p. at. 
2. First in order of being, of thought, or of 
time; original; primitive; first. 
The Church of Christ In Its primari/ Institution. 
Up. I'rarton. 
The three great and primary element! of all our know- 
ledge are. firstly, the idea of our own individual existence, 
or of finite mind in general ; secondly, the idea of nature ; 
and, thirdly, the Idea of the absolute and eternal, as mani- 
fested in the pure conceptions of our Impersonal reason. 
J. D. MoreU, Hist. Mod. Philos. (2d ed.), I. (B. 
3. First or lowest in order of growth or devel- 
opment ; elementary; preparatory. 
Education comprehends not merely the elementary' 
branches of what on the Continent Is called primary in- 
struction. Brougham. 
I am conscious is to me the first the beginning alike 
of knowledge nnd being ; and I can go no higher In the 
way of primary direct act. 
Veitch, Int. to Descartes's Method, p. lilt. 
Military cooperation is that primary kind of coopera- 
tion which prepares the way for other kinds. 
//. spencer, 1'rin. of Hoclol., I 451. 
The seeing of colors Is undoubtedly a far more simple 
and primary act than the seeing of colored objects as sit- 
uated In relation to each other in objective space. 
O. T. Ladd, I'hyslol. Psychology, p. 463. 
4. First in use or intention; radical; original: 
as, the primari/ sense of a word. 5. In oriiitli., 
of the first rank or order among the flight-fea- 
thers or remiges of the wing; situated upon the 
maims or pinion-bone, as a feather: correlated 
with xerinlury and tertiary or tertinl. See II. 
6. In geol., lowest in the sequence of geolo- 
gical formations: said of rocks. It includes rocks 
previously denominated primitive, and, as generally used, 
the two terms are nearly or quite synonymous. See primi- 
tive and Paleozoic. 
The strict propriety of the term primitive, as applied to 
granite and to the granitiforra and associated rocks, thus 
became questionable, and the term primary was very gen- 
erally substituted, as simply expressing the fact that the 
crystalline rocks, as a mass, were older than the secon- 
dary, or those which are unequivocally of a mechanical 
origin and contain organic remains. 
Sir C. Lyell. I'rin. of Geol. (4th cd., Isr.i, III. 340. 
Primary accent. In mutic, the accent with which a mea- 
sure begins: Its place is indicated in written music by 
a bar. Primary assembly, in politic*, an assembly in 
which all the citizens have a right to be present and 
to speak, as distinguished from reprctentatiec parlia- 
ment*. Imp. Diet. Primary axis. In hot, the main 
stalk in a cluster of flowers. Primary coll, in elect. 
See induction. Primary colors, In optws. See color. 
Primary conveyances, in lair, original conveyances, con- 
sisting of feotfmenU, grants, gifts, leases, exchanges, par- 
titions, etc., as distinguished from meme conveyance*. 
Primary coverts, see cocert, 6. Primary current, 
deviation, dial. See the nouns. Primary elections, 
elections, in primary assemblies of a section of a party, 
of nominees, delegates, or members of political commit- 
tees. Primary evidence, factor, linkage, motion. 
See the nouns. Primary meeting, In L. s. politic*, 
same as II., 4. Primary nerve or nerves, the one or 
several principal veins or ribs of a leaf, from which the 
secondary anastomosing veins proceed. Bee nervation. 
Primary node, in hot., the first node that Is developed In 
a plant. Primary number, a complex Integer congru- 
ent to unity to the modulus 2(1^ i), where z = 1; or, 
more generally, one of a class of complex integers such 
that no one is equal to the product of another by a unit 
factor, but such that all tin- other integers of the sys- 
tem can be produced from these by multiplying them li> 
unit factors.- Primary Olfactory pits, two simple de- 
pressions which appear on the lower surface of the wall 
of the anterior cerebral vesicle before other parts of the 
face have yet been formed, and which later become the 
" - : -. \l-> i. :!!. ' ', Primary planets 
See planet, 1. Primary prime. See prime. Primary 
qualities of bodies. See quality. - Primary quills, in 
ornith., the largest feathers of the wings of a bird ; pri- 
maries. Primary root, in but., tla i-oninninly single 
root which develops from the embryo Itself, nnd in many 
plants persists as a tap root : contrasted with tecandari/ 
